Water-soluble epoxy resins and process for their preparation

ABSTRACT

This invention is concerned with water-soluble epoxy resins represented by the general formula ##STR1## wherein A and B are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and the ##STR2## radical, X is a halogen having an atomic number from 17 to 53 inclusive and a, b and c are integers the sum of which equals a number from 0 to 3. These water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine are prepared by reacting glycerine with an epoxyalkyl halide in the presence of a Lewis Acid catalyst, subsequently at least partially dehydrohalogenating the resulting product, and finally recovering the water-soluble glycidyl ether product. Both the condensation reaction and the dehydrohalogenation reaction are carried out in the presence of an organic solvent. The products of this invention are polymerizable and useful in the same way as other glycidyl ethers but additionally may be used in aqueous formulations for coatings, adhesives and the like.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Ser. No. 067,988, filed Aug. 20, 1979, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of our co-pending application Ser. No. 895,168, filed Apr. 11, 1978, now abandoned, which is a division of our co-pending application Ser. No. 401,915 filed Sept. 28, 1978, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,110,354, which is a continuation-in-part of our co-pending application Ser. No. 67,234, filed Aug. 26, 1970, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 852,061, filed Aug. 21, 1969, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 782,611, filed Dec. 10, 1968, now abandoned.

This invention relates to novel epoxy resins which are water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine and to a process for the production of such water-soluble glycidyl ethers. More particularly, this invention relates to a novel method for conducting the reaction of glycerine with an epoxyalkyl halide to produce chlorohydrin ether which is then dehydrohalogenated to produce a glycidyl ether of glycerine which is highly water soluble.

The reaction of epoxyalkyl halides, such as epichlorohydrin, with a polyhydric alcohol in the presence of catalysts such as H₂ SO₄ or BF₃, is well known in the art. It is likewise well known to dehydrohalogenate the resulting chlorohydrin ether with a base to produce a glycidyl ether. Such reactions, however, are normally conducted in the absence of any solvent other than an excess of one of the reactants and the process produces glycidyl ethers which are substantially insoluble in water.

It is an object of this invention to produce specific glycidyl ethers of glycerine which are soluble in water. A further object is to provide to the art a method for preparing such water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed specification.

FIG. 1 is a graphical representation of the portion of the data of Example 1 showing percent organic chloride plotted versus percent insolubles.

FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of the portion of data of Example 2 showing percent insolubles versus percent of product having a sum of a, b and c in the product formula equal a number greater than 1.

It has now been discovered that water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine are prepared by reacting an epoxyalkyl halide with glycerine in a solvent and employing a Lewis Acid as a catalyst for such condensation reaction. The resulting chlorohydrin ether is then at least partially dehydrohalogenated with a base or alkaline-acting material in the presence of a solvent to produce the desired water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine. Such glycidyl ethers may then be separated from the salt by filtration or centrifugation and separated from the solvent and water by distillation.

The water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine produced by the process of this invention are represented by the formula ##STR3## wherein A and B are independently selected from the groups consisting of hydrogen and the ##STR4## radical, X is a halogen having an atomic number from 17 to 53 inclusive and a, b and c are integers the sum of which equals a number from 0 to 3. It is understood that such product is a mixture of various possible species contemplated by the formula rather than being a pure compound.

The term "epoxyalkyl halide" as used herein, refers to a compound comprising an alkane chain or cycloalkane ring having disposed thereon a vicinal epoxy group (oxirane group) and a halogen atom attached to a chain carbon atom which is not attached to the oxygen atom.

Preferred compounds are those wherein the halogen atom is attached to a chain carbon atom which is directly attached to a carbon atom of an epoxy ring, the vic-epoxy ring thus being in the alpha, beta-position relative to the halogen. These compounds have the structure ##STR5## where X is a halogen atom and each R is selected from the group consisting of the hydrogen atom and alkyl groups of up to 4 carbon atoms. Representative compounds include 1-chloro-2,3-epoxypropane (epichlorohydrin); 1-bromo-2,3-epoxypropane (epibromohydrin); 1-iodo-2,3-epoxypropane (epiodohydrin); 1-chloro-2,3-epoxybutane; 1-iodo-2,3-epoxyhexane; 3-chloro-4,5-epoxyoctane; 1-chloro-2,3-epoxycyclohexane; 1-bromo-2,3-epoxy-3-methylbutane; 2-chloro-2-methyl-3,4-epoxypentane; and the like, preferably having from 3 to 8 carbon atoms per molecule. The most preferred compounds of this class, which combine a terminal halogen atom with a terminal epoxy group, are the epihalohydrins, e.g. epichlorohydrin and epibromohydrin. Because of the preponderant commercial importance of epichlorohydrin, relative to other epoxy-alkyl halides, the following description of the invention will be made largely in terms of that compound.

As used herein, the term "water-soluble" refers to glycidyl ethers of glycerine containing less than 2% by volume of insolubles as determined by the following method: 10 gm of resin (9 ml.) is admixed with water to form a total volume of 100 ml. The mixture is then shaken until no more resin is apparently going into solution. This aqueous mixture or solution is then centrifuged to remove any material which is not in solution. The volume of such undissolved material divided by the original 9 ml. sample volume×100 provides the percent insolubles contained in the product.

Suitable catalysts for the condensation reaction between the epoxyalkyl halide and glycerine include substantially any Lewis Acid but boron trifluoride (as the etherate), aqueous hydrofluoric acid and stannic chloride have been found to be particularly effective and are therefore usually preferred. Such catalysts are preferably employed in a proportion of about 0.01 equivalents of catalyst per glycerine hydroxy group.

It is necessary for the purposes of this invention to react the epoxyalkyl halide with glycerine in the presence of a non-aqueous solvent in which the glycerine is at least partially soluble and in which the resulting chlorohydrin ether reaction product is sufficiently soluble to form a single phase. Suitable solvents for this reaction step include ethylene dichloride (EDC), dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, ethyl ether, 2-chloroethyl ether, chloroform, methylene chloride and the like. It is usually desirable to employ the reactants in a solvent solution containing at least about 20 weight percent solvent based on the glycerine employed with at least 50 weight percent being usually preferred. If less than 20 weight percent solvent is employed, undesirable amounts of water-insoluble material are formed as the product of this process. The upper proportion of the solvent to be employed is limited only by handling and economics considerations but no particular advantage is gained by employing over 90 weight percent solvent. When SnCl₄ or HF rather than BF₃ or other Lewis Acid are employed as the catalyst for this condensation step, less than 20 weight percent solvent may be employed and in some instances no solvent is required in order to achieve a water-soluble product. Even with this catalyst, however, a solvent concentration of 50 weight percent or above is preferred.

Mole ratios of epoxyalkyl halide to glycerine of from about 2:1 to about 2.6:1 are generally necessary to provide a water-soluble product which is curable into a resin having desirable physical properties. When SnCl₄ or HF is employed as catalysts, the mole ratio can be extended up to about 3.0:1.

A mole ratio of substantially less than 2:1 tends to produce very low molecular weight products having a relatively high proportion of monofunctional constituents, whereas a mole ratio of substantially above 2.6:1 or 3.0:1 when the catalyst is SnCl₄ or HF produces relatively high molecular weight products having an undesirably high proportion of molecular species wherein the sum of a, b and c, as defined above, are greater than 1 and which lack the desired water-solubility. Likewise, mole ratios substantially above 2.6:1 produce products having greater than about 8 percent organic chloride and which are therefore not sufficiently water-soluble. Therefore, the water-soluble epoxy resins of the present invention have an organic chloride content of from about 1.5 to about 8.

A reaction temperature of between about 0° C. and the boiling point or reflux temperature of the solvent is employed in this reaction step but a temperature between about 40° C. and about 90° C. is usually preferred.

Alkaline-acting materials are employed to dehydrohalogenate the chlorohydrin ether to produce the desired glycidyl ethers of glycerine. Suitable alkaline-acting materials include, for example, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium and potassium carbonates and the corresponding bicarbonates, the hydroxides of magnesium, zinc, lead, iron, aluminum and the like as well as aluminates, silicates and zincates of alkali metals. Due to its availability and price sodium hydroxide is usually preferred and is most advantageously employed in a proportion of from about 70 to about 95 mole percent of the epichlorohydrin added. Amounts of NaOH less than about 70 percent produce a product having a high hydrolyzable chloride content and therefore a product having an undesirably lower epoxide content. Amounts of NaOH greater than 95% of theoretical produce higher molecular weight resins by crosslinking and such resins have insufficient water solubility. It has been found that glycidyl ethers of glycerine having a percent organic chloride of greater than about 8 wt. percent and those containing greater than about 35 wt. percent of materials having a sum of a, b and c (as above defined) which is greater than 1 are not sufficiently water soluble.

It is necessary for the process of this invention to conduct the dehydrohalogenation reaction in the presence of an organic solvent which will maintain at least the glycidyl ether of glycerine in solution. Suitable solvents for this step of the reaction include toluene, xylene, ethylene dichloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, and the like. It is particularly advantageous to conduct the dehydrohalogenation at a temperature below about 110° C. and to employ a solvent which will azeotrope with water to form an azeotrope containing relatively high concentrations of water. Under reduced pressure, solvents such as toluene and xylene are effective and for atmospheric pressure distillation ethylene dichloride is particularly effective. While one solvent may be employed in the condensation step, removed and second solvent employed in the dehydrohalogenation step, it is usually desirable to employ the same solvent in both such steps.

It is important to maintain a solvent concentration in the dehydrohalogenation step of at least about 50 weight percent, preferably between about 70 weight percent and 95 weight percent, based on the initial weight of glycerine plus the total quantity of solvent to be employed in the dehydrohalogenation reaction. For example, if 80 parts of glycerine and 20 parts of solvent are employed in the coupling reaction, the addition of 167 parts of additional solvent to the reaction mixture prior to the dehydrohalogenation reaction provides a solvent concentration at the preferred 70% level based upon the weight of glycerine initially employed plus the total weight of solvent employed in the dehydrohalogenation reaction. At solvent concentrations below about 50 percent relatively high percentages of water-insoluble high molecular weight resins are formed and gelling of the resin tends to occur. To a lesser degree such problems persist between 50 and 70 percent solvent with some resin solvent systems. Above about 95 weight percent solvent, a water-soluble resin is produced but such high volumes of solvent make recovery of the resin unduly complicated and expensive.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, a mixture of glycerine and 0.03 mole of BF₃ etherate per mole of glycerine are slurried in ethylene dichloride to form a solution containing 80 weight percent ethylene dichloride based on the glycerine present. The solution is heated to 55°-60° C. and 2.5 moles of epichlorohydrin are added per mole of glycerine at a rate sufficient to maintain the temperature within the 55°-60° C. range. After the addition of epichlorohydrin, it is desirable to digest the reactant mixture for a period of time e.g. 30 minutes. After digestion, the solution is heated to a temperature of 84°-86° C. (reflux temperature) and from 0.7 to 0.95 equivalents of 50 percent NaOH per equivalent of epichlorohydrin is added to the solution. As the NaOH is added, a water-EDC azeotrope distills from the reactor. The water is continuously spearated therefrom and the EDC returned to the reaction zone until no more water is collected. The reaction mixture is then cooled, the salt is removed by filtration or centrifugation and the resin product is recovered by flashing off the EDC solvent. Alternatively, the salt may be removed continuously during the dehydrohalogenation reaction by passing a side stream of the solvent-product-salt slurry from the reaction vessel through a filter and returning the solvent-product filtrate to the reaction vessel. This technique is particularly advantageous when the dehydrohalogenation reaction is conducted in the presence of solvent in the lower range.

For some uses, such as in coatings, adhesives and the like, it would be desirable to prepare water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine having higher molecular weights since such higher molecular weight resins tend to produce coatings which exhibit greater toughness, flexibility and adhesion to substrate materials than coatings prepared from corresponding resins which are lower in molecular weight.

Such higher molecular weight water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine are prepared by the process of this invention by replacing a portion of the epoxy-alkyl halide with a previously prepared glycidyl ether of glycerine (hereinafter referred to as "glycidyl ether of glycerine additive"). Such glycidyl ether of glycerine additive reacts in the same manner as the epoxyalkyl halide but adds to the product chain a higher molecular weight unit.

In general, a mixture of an epoxyalkyl halide and a glycidyl ether of glycerine additive comprising from about 0.05 to about 0.65 epoxide equivalents of a glycidyl ether of glycerine additive (actually a mixture of glycidyl ethers of glycerine) and from about 1.35 to about 2.95 epoxide equivalents per mole of glycerine of an epoxyalkyl halide is added to the glycerine and the reaction conducted as hereinbefore described for the preparation of water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine.

High molecular weight water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine may also be prepared by replacing a portion of the epoxyalkyl halide with a diglycidyl ether of a polyoxyalkylene glycol having a molecular weight of from about 200 to about 600 in proportions of from about 0.05 to about 0.65 epoxide equivalents of the diglycidyl polyoxyalkylene glycol and from about 1.35 to about 2.95 equivalents per mole of glycerine of an epoxy alkyl halide and conducting the reaction as above described when employing the glycidyl ether of glycerine additive. Suitable diglycidyl ethers of polyoxyalkylene glycols include the diglycidyl ethers of polyoxypropylene glycols, diglycidyl ethers of polyoxethylene glycols and the like.

The glycidyl ether of glycerine additive and diglycidyl ether of a polyoxyalkylene glycol as previously described which may be employed in the preparation of higher molecular weight water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine include any of the water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine as hereinbefore described and those glycidyl ethers of glycerine and diglycidyl ethers of a polyoxyalkylene glycol having a water-insolubility as determined by the procedure hereinbefore described of less than about 67 percent and preferably less than about 10 percent.

The combined epoxide equivalents of the mixture of a epoxyalkyl halide and the glycidyl ether or glycerine additive or the diglycidyl ether of a polyoxyalkylene glycol employed is preferably from about 2.0 to about 2.6 epoxide equivalents per mole of glycerine. When SnCl₄ or HF is employed as the catalyst, the quantity can be extended to about 3.0 combined equivalents per mole of glycerine. When the combined epoxide equivalent weights exceed about 2.6 or 3.0, the higher molecular weight glycidyl ethers of glycerine product obtained contains water insoluble constituents which exceed about 2 percent by volume and when the combined epoxide equivalent weights are less than about 2.0, the product tends to have relatively high proportions of monofunctional constituents.

If still higher molecular weight water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine are desired, the glycidyl ether of glycerine additive may be one which was previously prepared by reacting glycerine with a mixture of an epoxyalkyl halide and a glycidyl ether of glycerine additive.

The glycidyl ether of glycerine additive and the diglycidyl ethers of 200-600 molecular weight poly-oxyalkylene glycol are members of a class of epoxy resins which are glycidyl ethers of a compound containing more than one aliphatic hydroxyl group.

Another method of preparing high molecular weight water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine is to employ as the starting material in the place of glycerine, a mixture containing (A) from about 10% to about 75%, preferably from about 10% to about 50% by weight of a polyhydroxyl-containing compound other than glycerine and which is soluble to the extent of at least about 10% by weight in glycerine at the reaction temperature and (B) from about 90% to about 25%, preferably 90% to about 50% by weight of glycerine. When such a mixture is employed, the other components employed are based upon the combined number of moles of the individual components of the mixture, e.g. the number of moles of epoxyalkyl halide employed would be from about 2.0 to about 3.0 moles where the catalyst is SnCl₄ or HF and from about 2.0 to about 2.6 when the catalyst is other than SnCl₄ or HF of a epoxyalkyl halide per the combined number of moles of glycerine and the polyhydroxyl-containing compound.

Suitable polyhydroxyl-containing compounds other than glycerine include polyoxyalkylene glycols, polyglycerols, copolymers of glycidol and an alkylene oxide such as, for example, ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, 1,2-butylene oxide or mixtures thereof, dimethylolcyclohexane, trimethylol propane, glyceryl dicyclopentadienyl ether, dicyclopentadienyl trimethylol ethane ether, sucrose, mixtures thereof and the like.

Suitable polyoxyalkylene glycols which may be employed are the polyoxyalkylene glycols wherein the alkylene portion contains from about 2 to about 4 carbon atoms and includes, for example, polyoxethylene glycols, polyoxypropylene glycols and polyoxybutylene glycols, such glycols being represented by the formula ##STR6## wherein R is hydrogen, methyl or ethyl and n is a number such that the molecular weight of the polyoxyalkylene glycol is from about 200 to about 600.

It is also within the scope of the present invention to prepare water soluble glycidyl ethers which are the dehydrohalogenated reaction products of a mixture comprising glycerine and a polyhydroxyl-containing compound, as previously described, with a mixture comprising an epihalohydrin and a diglycidyl ether of a polyoxyalkylene glycol as previously described, a glycidyl ether of glycerine additive as previously described, or mixtures thereof.

The following specific and comparative examples are provided to more fully illustrate the invention but are not to be construed as limiting to the scope of such invention.

EXAMPLE 1

A reaction vessel was employed which was fitted with a temperature indicator, a stirrer and a condenser attached to a separating device for the aqueous and organic layers. Into such flask was added 184.2 gm glycerine, 736 gm ethylene dichloride and 8.52 gm BF₃ etherate. After heating such mixture to 55°-60° C., epichlorohydrin was added over a period of between about 15 minutes and 6 hours while maintaining the 55°-60° C. temperature. After the epichlorohydrin addition was complete, the solution was digested at 60° C. for 30 minutes after which the temperature was increased to 83° C.-86° C. and a quantity of 50 weight percent aqueous NaOH was slowly added thereto over a period of from 30 minutes to 8 hours while maintaining the temperature. During the NaOH addition, water was continuously removed from the reaction vessel as an azeotrope with EDC. The water was separated from the condensed azeotrope and the solvent returned to the reaction vessel. Heating and distillation continued for about 15 minutes until no more water distilled from the reaction mixture. The reaction mixture was then allowed to cool, the salt was removed by filtration, and the product was recovered by flashing the EDC solvent therefrom.

Analysis of the product was then made for percent epoxide, percent hydrolyzable chloride, percent OH and percent total chloride by standard analytical methods and percent insolubles was determined by mixing 10 gm (9 ml) of product with sufficient water to produce a total volume of 100 ml, shaking the mixture for about 1 minute and centrifuging to remove the water-insolubles therefrom. The volume of such insolubles was then calculatd as a percent by volume of the original sample.

The following table of experiments illustrates the effect of organic chloride concentration on water solubility.

                                      TABLE I                                      __________________________________________________________________________                    Caustic          %                                                             % of             Hydroly-                                                                            %    %    %                               Experiment                                                                           Epi/Glycerine                                                                           Theoretical                                                                          %     %    zable                                                                               Total                                                                               Organic                                                                             Total                           Number                                                                               Mole Ratio                                                                              (1)   Insolubles                                                                           Epoxide                                                                             Chloride                                                                            Chloride                                                                            Chloride                                                                            OH                              __________________________________________________________________________     1     2.0/1    87.5  0.0   30.9 0.0  1.9* 1.9  8.4*                            2     2.3/1    72.5  0.0   28.4 2.89 5.2* 2.31 8.4*                            3      2.25/1  75.0  0.0   28.7 1.78 6.9* 5.12 8.7*                            4     2.6/1    87.5  0.0   32.2 0.0439                                                                              7.1* 7.0561                                                                              5.3*                            5     2.6/1    85.0  0.1   30.3 0.0495                                                                              8.1* 8.0505                                                                              4.8*                            6     3.0/1    85.0   4.45 31.8 0.025                                                                               9.7* 8.675                                                                               4.1*                            7     3.0/1    70.0   5.67 30.0 1.94 11.4 9.46 5.1*                            8     3.0/1    85.0  7.8   31.8 0.028                                                                               9.5* 9.472                                                                               3.8*                            9     3.0/1    66.0  8.9   26.6 3.25 12.3 9.05 5.9*                            __________________________________________________________________________      *Analysis run by infrared  other determinations were by standard wet           method.                                                                         (1) Theory caustic is calculated as an equivalent of caustic per              equivalent of epichlorohydrin added to the glycerine.                    

FIG. 2 graphically demonstrates the effect of organic chloride concentration in the final resin. This figure was obtained by plotting % total organic chloride (% total chloride-% hydrolyzable chloride) against the % insolubles of the final product of the experiments shown in Table I.

EXAMPLE 2

In the same manner as Example 1, glycidyl ethers of glycerine were prepared having various molecular weight distributions to demonstrate the effect of various proportions of various molecular species within the polymer on water-solubility. The following Table II shows the specific reaction conditions, the molecular distribution of the polymers as determined by gel permeation chromatography and the water-solubility of such products. The results are likewise plotted and shown graphically in FIG. 2.

The distribution of various species within the product mixture is determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and therefore, referreing to the product formula defined herein, the last product component GPC peak represents a product wherein the sum of a, b and c equals 0, the next to last product component peak represents a product component wherein the sum of a, b and c equals 1, the third to last such peak represents a product component wherein the sum of a, b and c equals 2, and so forth. Usually, however, the first peak or two which represent higher molecular weight material (i.e. a+b+c=greater than 2) are very small peaks representing very small amounts of such higher molecular weight components. Analyses of the samples shown in Table II by vapor phase chromatography showed such samples to contain no free glycerine and therefore the product as analyzed by GPC contains only species which fall within the product definition.

Since the samples analyzed by GPC in this example are prepared from the same reactants and are therefore structurally similar, the relation of peak height to area is substantially constant. Therefore, for purposes ot this Example the percent of products falling within a given peak or peaks is determined by dividing the height of such peak (or sum of heights of two or more peaks) by the sum of all the peak heights times 100.

                                      TABLE II                                     __________________________________________________________________________     Epi/    Caustic   %               Peak Height in mm      % of                  Experi-                                                                            Glyc-                                                                              % of                                                                               %     Hydro-                                                                             %   % Or-   Last  Third                                                                               Second                                                                                First                                                                                Product              ment                                                                               erine                                                                              Theo-                                                                              In-                                                                               %  lyzable                                                                            Total                                                                              ganic                                                                              %   Peak  Peak Peak  Peak  Having                Num-                                                                               Mole                                                                               retical                                                                            sol-                                                                              Ep-                                                                               Chlo-                                                                              Chlo-                                                                              Chlo-                                                                              Total                                                                              (a + b +                                                                             (a + b                                                                              (a + b + c                                                                           (a + b                                                                               a + b + c             ber Ratio                                                                              (1) ubles                                                                             oxide                                                                             ride                                                                               ride                                                                               ride                                                                               OH  c = 0)                                                                               + c = 1)                                                                            = 2)  = >2) = >1                  __________________________________________________________________________     1   2.25/1                                                                             87.5                                                                               0.0                                                                               32.8                                                                              0.008                                                                              7.1 7.092                                                                              7.3 130   115  51    26    23.9                  2   2.5/1                                                                              85.0                                                                               0.0                                                                               30.2                                                                              0.184                                                                              6.6 6.416                                                                              7.0 113   123  59    33    28.0                  3   2.5/1                                                                              87.5                                                                               0.0                                                                               32.4                                                                              0.0035                                                                             7.9 7.8965                                                                             6.0 122   128  66    34    28.6                  4   2.5/1                                                                              85.0                                                                               0.0                                                                               30.4                                                                              0.145                                                                              8.1 7.955                                                                              7.4 110   125  65    34    29.6                  5   2.3/1                                                                              72.5                                                                               0.0                                                                               28.4                                                                              2.89                                                                               5.2*                                                                               2.31                                                                               8.4 106   105  69    38    33.6                  6   2.6/1                                                                              85.0                                                                               0.10                                                                              30.3                                                                              0.0495                                                                             8.1*                                                                               8.0505                                                                             4.8*                                                                                85   105  60    34    33.1                  7   2.5/1                                                                              85.0                                                                               0.78                                                                              30.9                                                                              0.14                                                                               9.0 8.86                                                                               2.3  92   145  84    38    33.9                  8   3.0/1                                                                              85.0                                                                               7.8                                                                               31.8                                                                              0.028                                                                              9.5*                                                                               9.472                                                                              3.8*                                                                                85   116  78    42    37.4                  __________________________________________________________________________      *Analysis run by infrared  other determinations were by standard wet           method.                                                                        (1) Theory caustic is calculated as an equivalent of caustic per               equivalent of epichlorohydrin added to the glycerine.                    

EXAMPLE 3

In the same manner as Example 1, a number of experiments were conducted and tabulated to show the effects of solvent type and concentration, catalyst, and mole ratio of reactants as well as to provide a direct comparison with the water-solubility of a typical commercial glycidyl ether of glycerine. The indicated catalyst was employed in a quantity corresponding to 0.01 equivalent of catalyst per glycerine OH equivalent. The results of such experiments are shown in the following Table III.

                                      TABLE III                                    __________________________________________________________________________     Epichlorohydrin - Glycerine Reaction                                                               Dehydrohalogenation                                            Epi-Gly-                                                                            Solvent-   Solvent                                                                              Caustic      Hydro-                                  Exper-                                                                             cerine                                                                              Wt. %      Wt. % % of Insolu-                                                                            Epox-                                                                              lyzable                                                                            Total                                                                              Organic                                                                             Total                      iment                                                                              Mole Based on   Based on                                                                             Theoret-                                                                            bles                                                                               ide Chlor-                                                                             Chlor-                                                                             Chlor-                                                                              OH                         No. Ratio                                                                               Glycerine                                                                            Catalyst                                                                            Glycerine                                                                            ical (1)                                                                            %   %   ide %                                                                              ide %                                                                              ide %                                                                               %                          __________________________________________________________________________     1   (Control) A typical, commercially available glycidyl                           ether of glycerine having an eq. wt. of 150-170.                                                          23.3                                                                               26.0                                                                               1.03                                                                               13.8                                                                               11.17                                                                               4.2                         2* 2.5/1                                                                               none  BF.sub.3                                                                            Toluene                                                                        90%   85.0 11.1                                                                               30.5                                                                               0.16                                                                               11.4                                                                               11.24                                                                               3.9                        3   2.5/1                                                                               EDC-80%                                                                              BF.sub.3                                                                            EDC-80%                                                                              85.0 0.00                                                                               30.2                                                                               0.184                                                                              6.6 6.42 7.0                        4   2.5/1                                                                               None  SnCl.sub.4                                                                          EDC-80%                                                                              85.0 1.1 30.5                                                                               0.592                                                                              5.6 5.01 4.3                        5   2.6/1                                                                               EDC-80%                                                                              BF.sub.3                                                                            EDC-80%                                                                              87.5 0.0 32.2                                                                               0.044                                                                              7.1*                                                                               7.05 5.3*                       6   3.0/1                                                                               EDC-80%                                                                              BF.sub.3                                                                            EDC-80%                                                                              70.0 5.67                                                                               30.0                                                                               1.94                                                                               11.4*                                                                              9.46 5.1*                       7   2.3/1                                                                               EDC-80%                                                                              BF.sub.3                                                                            EDC-80%                                                                              72.5 0.0 28.4                                                                               2.89                                                                               5.2 2.31 8.4                        8   3.0/1                                                                               EDC-80%                                                                              BF.sub.3                                                                            EDC-80%                                                                              85.0 4.45                                                                               31.8                                                                               0.025                                                                              9.7*                                                                               9.68 4.1*                       9   3.0/1                                                                               EDC-80%                                                                              BF.sub.3                                                                            EDC-80%                                                                              85.0 5.57                                                                               31.8                                                                               0.064                                                                              7.1*                                                                               7.04 5.0*                       10  2.5/1                                                                               EDC-80%                                                                              BF.sub.3                                                                            EDC-80%                                                                              85.0 0.00                                                                               31.4                                                                               0.13                                    11  3.0/1                                                                               EDC-80%                                                                              HF   EDC-80%                                                                              85.0 0.22                                                                               33.0                                                                               0.073                                                                              8.32                                                                               8.82 6.7                                       (50% aq.                                                                       sol.)                                                           __________________________________________________________________________      *Analyses run by Infrared  other determinations were by Standard Wet           Method.                                                                        **Dehydrohalogenation reaction conducted at 30° C. and 35-70 mm Hg      instead of 83°-86° C. at 760 mm Hg.                              (1) Theoretical amount of caustic is calculated as an equivalent of            caustic per equivalent of epichlorohydrin added to the glycerine.        

EXAMPLE 4

In the same manner as Example 1, experiments were conducted to show the preparation of higher molecular weight water-soluble glycidyl ethers of glycerine and to show the effect of variations of the combined epoxide equivalent weight of the epoxyalkyl halide and the glycidyl ether of glycerine additive. The results of such experiments are summaraized in the following Table IV.

                                      TABLE IV                                     __________________________________________________________________________                                     Equiv-                                                                         alents of                                          Additive      Equiv-        Additive +                                                                           Caustic,     %                               Employed as                                                                             Insol-                                                                              alents of                                                                            Equivalents of                                                                         Epichloro-                                                                           % of Insol-  Hydro-                                                                             %                       Exper-                                                                             a Mixture                                                                               ubles in                                                                            Additive/                                                                            Epichloro-                                                                             hydrin/                                                                              Theor-                                                                              ubles in                                                                            %  lyzable                                                                            Total                                                                              %                   iment                                                                              with Epi-                                                                               Additive,                                                                           2 moles of                                                                           hydrin/2 moles                                                                         1 mole                                                                               etical                                                                              Product,                                                                            Ep-                                                                               Chlo-                                                                              Chlo-                                                                              Total               No. chlorohydrin                                                                            Vol. %                                                                              Glycerine                                                                            of Glycerine                                                                           Glycerine                                                                            (1)  Vol. %                                                                              oxide                                                                             ride                                                                               ride                                                                               OH                  __________________________________________________________________________     1   Expt. 3 of Ex. 1                                                                        0.0  0.288 3.712   2.0   90.0 0.0  26.8                                                                              0.04                                                                               <1.0*                                                                              8.6*                2   Expt. 1 of Ex. 1                                                                        0.0  0.144 3.856   2.0   85.0 0.5  29.2                                                                              0.086                                                                              1.0*                                                                               8.5*                3   Expt. 1 of Ex. 1                                                                        0.0  0.420 3.580   2.0   87.5 0.0  25.9                                                                              0.172                                                                              <1.0*                                                                              9.9*                4   Expt. 6 of Ex. 2                                                                        0.1  0.144 5.056   2.6   87.5 0.0  29.9                                                                              0.0413                                                                             7.0*                                                                               5.5*                5   Expt. 8 of Ex. 3                                                                        4.45 0.300 5.200   2.75  72.5 3.33 27.0                                                                              2.10                                                                               8.7*                                                                               8.1*                6   Expt. 9 of Ex. 3                                                                        5.57 0.416 5.584   3.00  85.0 7.78 28.2                                                                              0.051                                                                              7.1*                                                                               5.0*                7   Expt. 6 of Ex. 1                                                                        4.45 0.200 5.000   2.6   72.5 1.11 26.0                                                                              2.20                                                                               9.0*                                                                               8.4*                8   Expt. 10 of Ex. 3                                                                       0.00 0.144 5.056   2.6   72.5 0.22 26.4                                                                              2.48                                                                               8.9*                                                                               8.3*                9   Expt. 8 of Ex. 4                                                                        0.22 0.191 5.009   2.6   72.5 0.89 26.5                                                                              1.80                                                                               9.0*                                                                               8.2*                10  Expt. 10 of Ex. 3                                                                       0.00 0.245 4.955   2.6   87.5 1.11 28.9                                                                              0.18                                                                               8.5*                                                                               4.7*                11  Expt. 3 of Ex. 3                                                                        0.0  0.338 4.862   2.6   87.5 0.0  27.4                                                                              0.043                                                                              7.5 7.7                 12  Expt. 3 of Ex. 3                                                                        0.0  0.576 4.624   2.6   87.5 0.0  24.7                                                                              0.075                                                                              6.6 8.4                 13  Exp. 3 of Ex. 3                                                                         0.0  1.08  4.12    2.6   90.0 0.0  19.6                                                                              0.024                                                                              5.7 9.2                 14  Expt. 3 of Ex. 3                                                                        0.0  1.08  3.12    2.1   90.0 0.0  16.7                                                                              0.16                                                                               5.6 13.2                15  D.E.R. 732**                                                                            66.7 0.156 5.04    2.6   87.5 0.8  27.7                                                                              0.064                                                                              7.4 5.6                 __________________________________________________________________________      *Analysis run by infrared  other determinations by standard wet method.        **D.E.R. 732 is the diglycidyl ether of a 400 molecular weight                 polyoxyalkylene glycol, said diglyoidyl ether having an epoxide equivalen      weight of 330.                                                                 (1) Theoretical amount of caustic is calculated as an equivalent of            caustic per equivalent of epichlorohydrin added to the glycerine.        

EXAMPLE 5

A reaction vessel was employed which was fitted with a temperature indicator, a stirrer, a condenser attached to a separating device for aqueous and organic layers and a means for continuously removing a slurry of reactants, products and salt, separating the salt from said slurry and returning the liquid portion thereof to the reaction vessel. Into such a vessel was charged 92.1 grams (1 mole) of glycerine, 138.0 grams of ethylene dichloride and 4.25 grams (0.03 moles) of boron trifluoride etherate. The temperature of the reaction vessel contents was raised to 55°-60° C. and 229.0 grams (2.477 moles) of epichlorohydrin containing 17.5 grams (0.122 epoxide equivalents) of the product from experiment 2 of Example 2 was added over a period of 1 hour. The temperature was allowed to exotherm to 90° C. (reflux) during the addition. After digesting for 15 minutes at 90° C., 78.2 grams (1.98 moles) of 50% aqueous sodium hydroxide was slowly added at 88° C. As the caustic was added, the water was continuously removed as an ethylene dichloride-water azeotrope and the ethylene dichloride was returned to the vessel. Also as the caustic was added, a salt slurry from the reaction vessel was continuously circulated through a filter to remove the salt and the liquid portion thereof was returned to the reaction vessel. After all the caustic had been added, the reaction was continued until no more water was collected. The ethylene dichloride containing the product was then pumped out of the reaction vessel through the filter and the ethylene dichloride solvent was removed from the product by distilling under reduced pressure. The % yield of recovered product was 90.2. The product had the following properties.

    ______________________________________                                         % epoxide               27.06                                                  % insolubles            0.0                                                    % total chloride        6.76                                                   % total OH              6.76                                                   % hydrolyzable chloride 0.02                                                   ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 6

A reaction vessel was employed which was fitted with a temperature indicator, a stirrer and a condenser attached to a separating device for aqueous and organic layers. Into such a vessel was charged 92.1 grams (1 mole) of glycerine, 23 grams of ethylene dichloride and 4.25 grams of boron trifluoride etherate. The temperature of reaction vessel contents was raised to 55°-60° C. and 229.0 grams (2.477 moles) of epichlorohydrin containing 17.5 grams (0.122 epoxide equivalents) of the product from experiment 2 of example 2 was added over a period of 1 hour. The temperature was allowed to exotherm at 90° C. (reflux) during the addition. After digesting for 30 minutes at 90° C. the contents were cooled to 84° C. and 345 grams of ethylene dichloride were added. The temperature was maintained at 84° C. and 173.5 grams (2.16 moles) of 50% aqueous sodium hydroxide was slowly added over a 2-hour period. As the NaOH was added, water, produced by the reaction and introduced with the NaOH, was continuously removed as an ethylene dichloride-water azeotrope and the ethylene dichloride was separated from the water and returned to the reaction vessel via the separating device. After all the water added with the caustic and tha produced by the epoxidation reaction had been removed, the contents were digested for 15 minutes at 83° C. The salt was then removed from the product-ethylene dichloride-salt slurry by filtration and the product recovered from the product-ethylene dichloride filtrate by removing the ethylene-dichloride by distillation under reduced pressure. A 93.6% yield of product was recovered, such product having the following properties:

    ______________________________________                                         % epoxide               27.3                                                   % insolubles            1.95                                                   % hydrolyzable chloride 0.35                                                   % total chloride        8.03                                                   % total OH              6.59                                                   ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 7

A reaction vessel was employed which was fitted with a temperature indicator, a stirrer and a condenser attached to a separating device for the aqueous and organic layers. Into such flask was added glycerine and polyhydroxyl containing compounds, ethylene dichloride (75 wt. percent based on solvent, glycerol and polyhydroxyl-containing compounds), and BF₃ etherate (0.03 mole per total moles of glycerine and polyhydroxyl-containing compound). After heating such mixture to 55°-60° C., epichlorohydrin was added over a period of between about 15 minutes and 6 hours while maintaining the 55°-60° C. temperature. After the epichlorohydrin addition was complete, the solution was digested at 60° C. for 30 minutes after which the temperature was increased to 83° C.-86° C. and a quantity of 50 weight percent aqueous NaOH was slowly added thereto over a period of from 30 minutes to 8 hours while maintaining the temperature. During the NaOH addition, water was continuously removed from the reaction vessel as a azeotrope with EDC. The water was separated from the condensed azeotrope and the solvent returned to the reaction vessel. Heating and distitllation continued for about 15 minutes until no more water distilled from the reaction mixture. The reaction mixture was then allowed to cool, the salt wa removed by filtration, and the product was recovered by flashing the EDC solvent therefrom.

Analysis of the product was then made for percent epoxide, percent hydrolyzable chloride, percent OH and percent total chloride by standard analytical methods and percent insolubles was determined by mixing 10 gm (9 ml) of product with sufficient water to produce a total volume of 100 ml, shaking the mixture for about 1 minute and centrifuging to remove the water-insolubles therefrom. The volume of such insolubles was then calculated as a percent by volume of the original sample.

The following table of experiments (Table V) gives the results obtained from each experiment.

                                      TABLE V                                      __________________________________________________________________________     Compound Mixed with Glycerine                                                                       Moles of Epi-                                                           Quantity                                                                              chlorohydrin/                                                                           Caustic                                                        (wt.% based                                                                           total moles of                                                                          % of     %                                                     on total wt.                                                                          glycerine +                                                                             Theore-                                                                             %   Hydroly-                                                                            %                                  Experi-       of glycerine                                                                          compound mixed                                                                          tical                                                                               Insol-                                                                             zable                                                                               Total                                                                               %  %                          ment No.                                                                            Type     + compound)                                                                           with glycerine                                                                          (1)  ubles                                                                              Chloride                                                                            Chloride                                                                            OH Epoxide                    __________________________________________________________________________     1    polyglycerol                                                                   mw = 388 20     2.6      87.5 0.0 <0.005                                                                              7.66 5.9                                                                               29.0                       2    polyglycerol                                                                   mw = 388 30     2.6      87.5 0.0 0.026                                                                               8.4  6.4                                                                               28.0                       3    polyglycerol                                                                   mw = 388 50     2.6      87.5 0.0 0.022                                                                               6.6  10.9                                                                              24.0                       4    polyglycerol                                                                   mw = 388 50     2.0      87.5 0.0 0.032                                                                               6.9  18.2                                                                              19.8                       5    polyglycerol                                                                   mw = 388 70     2.0      87.5 2.2 0.05 9.2  18.3                                                                              14.8                       6    polyoxypropylene                                                               glycol, mw = 400                                                                        33.1   1.6      90.0 0.0 0.03 3.5  11.6                                                                              22.6                       7    polyoxypropylene                                                               glycol, mw = 400                                                                        56.8   1.6      90.0 0.0 0.024                                                                               2.46 9.86                                                                              17.8                       __________________________________________________________________________ 

We claim:
 1. A Water-soluble epoxy resin which is the dehydrohalogenated Lewis Acid catalyzed reaction product, in the presence of a non-aqueous inert solvent in which the glycerine is at least partially soluble and in which the resulting halohydrin ether reaction product is sufficiently soluble to form a single phase, of an epoxyalkyl halide, wherein the epoxy group is in the α, β position relative to the halogen atom, with a mixture containing(a) from about 10% to about 75% by weight of polyhydroxyl-containing compound, other than glycerine, which is soluble in glycerine to the extent of at least about 10 percent by weight at the reaction temperature and (b) from about 90% to about 25% by weight of glycerine;wherein the quantity of said epoxyalkyl halide per mole of combined components (a) and (b) is in the range of from about 2.0 to about 2.6 and when the Lewis Acid is SnCl₄ or HF in the range of from about 2.0 to about 3.0 epoxide equivalents and the product contains less than about 2 percent by volume of water-insoluble constituents; and wherein the dehydrohalogenation is conducted in the presence of an inert solvent which will maintain at least the glycidyl ether of glycerine in solution.
 2. The water-soluble epoxy resin of claim 1 wherein component (a) is in the range of from about 10% to about 50% by weight and component (b) is in the range of from about 90% to about 50% by weight.
 3. A Water-soluble epoxy resin which is the dehydrohalogenated Lewis Acid catalyzed reaction product, in the presence of a non-aqueous inert solvent in which the glycerine is at least partially soluble and in which the resulting halohydrin ether reaction product is sufficiently soluble to form a single phase, of(1) a mixture of (a) from about 25% to about 90% by weight of glycerine and (b) from 10% to about 75% by weight of a polyhydroxyl-containing compound, other than glycerine, which is soluble in glycerine to the extent of at least about 10 percent by weight at the reactant temperature and (2) a mixture of (a) an epoxyalkyl halide wherein the epoxy group is in the α,β position relative to the halogen atom and (b) a glycidyl ether of an aliphatic hydroxyl-containing compound selected from the group consisting of a diglycidyl ether of a polyoxyalkylene glycol, a glycidyl ether of glycerine additive and mixture thereof;wherein the quantity of component (2) is that which provides from about 2.0 to about 2.6 or when said Lewis Acid is SnCl₄ or HF from about 2.0 to about 3.0 epoxide equivalents per mole of component (1) and said reaction product contains less than about 2 percent by weight of water insoluble constituents; and wherein the dehydro-halogenation is conducted in the presence of an inert solvent which will maintain at least the glycidyl ether of glycerine in solution.
 4. The water-soluble epoxy resin of claim 3 wherein component (1) contains from about 50% to about 90% by weight of (a) and from about 10% to about 50% by weight of (b).
 5. The water-soluble epoxy resin of claims 1, 2, 3 or 4 wherein said epoxyalkyl halide is epichlorohydrin. 